Paper short abstract:

The Three Kings Festival is a rite brought from Portugal to Brazil with African and other influences. The research focuses on challenges of that urban rite inside a favela in Rio de Janeiro - poverty, crime rates, religious intolerance. It explores how resistance to these makes the group stronger.

Paper long abstract:

The Three Kings Festival (Folia dos Reis) is a traditional rite brought from Portugal to Brazil with influences from African and Indigenous cultures and other European immigrants that reached Brazil during five centuries.

My research in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, focuses on the favela of Santa Marta, where the masters and conductors of that urban rite always tried to resist different problems and challenges to keep their performance alive. That rite was brought to this favela sixty years ago by migrants from the countryside of Brazil.

Some of the performance groups live in favelas and very poor areas with gang wars and high crime rates. While music and art can help a lot of young to not be exposed to illegal activity, one of the hardest wars remains the one against poverty.

The work of the festival directors includes rehearsals, the making of clothes, masks, musical instruments. Knowledge is passed from family to family for generations. It is part of our most important connection with the formation of country and culture. While the Folia has survived crises and is increasingly influenced by new generations, it is still facing the problem of religious intolerance, crime, and police violence. The support of the Brazilian government to the artists is close to zero, yet those groups manage to survive and to keep their traditions. And more: nowadays the number of kids participating is growing as school are creating opportunities to new participants. My research shows how despite the challenges, this rite is kept strong and alive.